Cairo: Dr. Mostafa Madbouli, the Prime Minister, held a press conference ahead of the twelfth edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), which will be inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The event will be attended by Anacláudia Rossbach, Under-Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), along with various ministers and officials.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Dr. Madbouli welcomed attendees and noted that this forum is the second largest event organized by the UN, following the climate conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh. He highlighted the significance of choosing Cairo for the forum, which reflects UN-Habitat’s appreciation for the city and Egypt’s ongoing urban development initiatives.

He shared his personal connection to the forum, having previously served as the Regional Director for Arab countries at UN-Habitat, and expressed pride in hosting this event in Cairo and managing such a large gathering in a city of 22
million residents.

The Prime Minister emphasized the successful efforts in urban transport and infrastructure that enable the smooth hosting of the forum, which has attracted 37,000 registered participants, including 72 ministers and 96 governors. He believes this event will be a major success and noted that it has the highest number of participants in the forum’s history.

Dr. Madbouli also discussed Egypt’s various initiatives aimed at urban development, such as affordable housing projects and the “Decent Life” initiative, which seeks to improve living conditions for over 60 million Egyptians.

In summary, Dr. Madbouli expressed hope that the forum will foster important discussions and outcomes that advance urban development, particularly in light of global challenges.